Resources, Advice and Stories from Bone Anchored Hearing System Users

Tag Archives: bone anchored hearing

James Wolff is 71-years-old and has experienced hearing loss for years. In the past, he wore bilateral hearing aids, however, because of drainage in his left ear, he often had to remove the hearing aid which left him with poor hearing on his left side. His daughter, Kimberlee Griffey who has worked at Oticon Medical for 7 years, recounts bringing her bone anchored hearing equipment to Christmas every year for her father to try.

“I’d bring a demo, a softband, and a Streamer to Christmas, just wanting to test him, but he would say he didn’t need it. Then last Christmas he finally said ‘I think I’m ready for the procedure’.” – Kimberlee Griffey

James had surgery to get his abutment placed in June 2017 with Dr. James Benecke at Missouri Baptist Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri. Dr. Benecke has been working with bone anchored hearing systems (BAHS) for 14 years. He says that for many patients with conductive or mixed hearing loss who cannot have their hearing corrected surgically and cannot use hearing aids because of ear canal and drainage issues, a BAHS is a great option.

When considering a BAHS for his patients, Dr. Benecke investigates and explains all available options. He recommends that his patients talk with other patients who wear different devices, checks insurance options and has patients trial the BAHS on a softband. If an audiometric evaluation is unclear as to whether a person might be a good candidate for the Ponto, he works with Oticon Medical representatives to help with identifying potential candidates when an evaluation might be unclear.

“I always give patients their options and have them chat with people who have tried different systems. Overall, my patient population does better with bone anchored hearing systems as opposed to a CROS hearing aid.” – Dr. Benecke

For James’s procedure, Dr. Benecke performed the Minimally Invasive Ponto Surgery (MIPS). MIPS is a procedure that takes 10-15 minutes and is normally carried out under local anesthetic. He mentions that when someone says the word surgery, most patients have pre-conceived thoughts about what is involved.

“No one wants to have surgery, but if there is an opportunity to improve an aspect of someone’s health by doing a procedure that someone is well informed about and has good outcomes, then people need to know about it so they can make the best-informed decision.” – Dr. Benecke

“When people first think of surgery they think long recovery time—a long time in the operating room. I tell people that with the MIPS procedure it’s less than an hour, outpatient procedure. My dad had no pain whatsoever. It was life-changing for him. My advice is not to wait because you don’t know what you’re missing.” – Kimberlee Griffey

This past September, James was activated with his Ponto 3 SuperPower and the results have been life-changing.

“Before he described sounds as muffled. Now it is loud and clear. His volume of speech has significantly decreased because now he can monitor his own speech, where he was not able to do this before. He drives a lot and he’s able to put the microphone on his grandkids and he can hear them in the back seat. He also loves using his Streamer to connect to his phone, TV, and laptop. It has opened a whole new world and I am so very grateful that he is able to get the best of life in his golden years.” – Kimberlee Griffey

As awareness continues to grow around bone anchored hearing and the MIPS procedure, Dr. Benecke says he will continue to advocate for bone anchored hearing because ‘the results speak for themselves’.

“The first thing my dad said after he was fit with his Ponto was ‘why didn’t you tell me about this earlier?’” – Kimberlee Griffey

Interested in learning more about the Ponto 3 SuperPower? Click below and we can help connect with you with an audiologist in your area.

Nathan Anderson is 7-years-old. He was born with Treacher Collins syndrome and bilateral conductive hearing loss. His hearing journey began when he was 6 months old with a bone anchored hearing system (BAHS) on a softband.

While his mother, Liz Anderson, was happy her son had the device, they were never happy with the feedback that occurred when someone or something would come in contact with it. Through online communities such as the “BAHA Kids Club World Hearing”, Liz began to learn about other bone anchored hearing options and came across Oticon Medical and the Ponto.

When it came time to decide whether or not he would continue with his device on a softband, Nathan who prior to his BAHS surgeries had had 7 other medical procedures, was unsure about the decision. He spoke with a friend who had gone from a softband to an abutment and received reassurance that the surgery was an easy process.

“When it came time for deciding on whether or not to have surgery for implantation, Nathan made the decision himself. One day at the dinner table, he let us know he was ready.”

“When I saw videos of adults trying the new Ponto 3 SuperPower, it helped me make the decision that that was the direction we wanted to go. The clarity that people spoke of and children in middle school spoke about trying different BAHS devices but ultimately chose Ponto – that cemented our decision.”

Interested in learning more about our newest Ponto – the Ponto 3 SuperPower? Click the button below to be connected to a representative from our team.

Nicaragua is the largest country in Central America with a population of over 6 million people. According to the Carlyle Hearing Center, it is estimated that 10% of the Nicaraguan population has a severe to profound hearing loss, pointing to a count of 600,000 people.

Sherry Rauh is a former medical journalist. After becoming intrigued by implantable hearing technology, she went back to school and to earn her AuD from Nova Southeastern University in 2015. She is now a clinical audiologist with South Florida ENT Associates and the co-founder of Hear for Good, Inc., a nonprofit foundation dedicated to helping adults and children with hearing loss in South Florida and Nicaragua.

“I had been to Nicaragua the previous year and saw how they were identifying many children with hearing loss at a young age, but had limited resources for intervention.”

In 2015, the HANS Project received a grant from the Hear the World Foundation providing BTE hearing aids for the next 5 years. Dr. Rauh now travels to Nicaragua every year with a small group of audiology students from NSU, to fit new hearing aid devices and provide followup to previous patients, while Los Pipitos provides check-ups and speech therapy.

“It’s really important to me that whichever children we do fit with hearing aids we are able to provide them with sufficient follow-up care.”

Providing Bone Conduction Hearing Devices in Nicaragua

Anselyn, age 1

As Dr. Rauh’s organization has grown, her partners in Nicaragua began asking what could be done for children with microtia and atresia, who cannot use conventional hearing aids for their hearing loss. She reached out to Oticon Medical and her local representative, Brittany Whitlock, who provided two demo units which were fit with soft-bands. Oticon Medical then made an official donation of four Ponto 3 Power units for her trip her most recent trip this October.

“While we have the BTE hearing aids, there are children who can’t use those and to be able to extend assistance to those children meant a lot to our team, the team in Nicaragua, and the families.”

Frander, age 7 months

With the continued work of the Hear for Good foundation and Los Pipitos, children in Nicaragua with different hearing needs are not only being fit with hearing devices, but receiving the proper follow-up, and care throughout their lives. When asked why this work is important to her, Dr. Rauh said, “There are so many countries where there is very little, to no access to audiologists, so part of me feels like we have a responsibility to provide that assistance. But I also get a lot of personal joy making these trips and seeing the difference we are making.”

Hazel Shelton was born with bilateral Microtia and moderate mixed hearing loss. She was unaided until she was 18 months and adopted by the Shelton family. After trying a number of hearing devices and experiencing issues with feedback, her mother Jillian decided to conduct her own research and become an advocate for her daughter.

“I watched a video of a daughter laying in her mother’s arms wearing the Ponto and there was no feedback. I started to look in the Facebook groups and hands down, Ponto won.”

Jillian traveled to California to attend the Earicles Los Angeles Microtia Atresia conference to take her research further. After meeting with a number of doctors and experts, she returned home and “kindly demanded” an upgrade for her daughter.

Hazel has now been using her Ponto 3 SuperPower on a softband for two weeks. In the video below, Jillian demonstrates just how big of a difference her Ponto is making in her life.

“My daughter’s sentences have exploded. Not just one or two words but sentences and she’s only had them on for two weeks! The feedback is not there – when she gives me a hug, sits in her car seat, or wears her hair down. She grabs the Ponto first thing in the morning and wears it until she falls asleep at night. Hands down, Ponto is the way to go.”

If you’d like to learn more about how the Ponto 3 SuperPower can provide early support for children and adults with hearing loss, click below to be connected to a representative from our team.

Kavya Sharma is almost two years old and lives in New Delhi, India. She had a difficult start in life, being born with bilateral Microtia and Atresia as well as Hemifacial Microsomia and a hole in her heart. These conditions brought her to the hospital often for feeding tubes and oxygen therapy. Today, Kavya has recovered from many of her health related issues, except one – her ability to hear.

In the Spring of 2017, her mother Savita Sharma, reached out to Ear Community looking for help. With bilateral Microtia and Atresia, Kavya struggled with speech development and couldn’t hear her parents. They worried about her ability to make friends and how she would be able to learn and attend school. After consulting with a specialist in New Delhi, it was suggested that a bone conduction device could be the answer.

On June 5, 2017, Kavya received two brand new Ponto 3 SuperPowers from Oticon Medical that were donated through the Ear Community. With the help and donated time of Dr. Niraj Kumar at the AIMS hospital in Safdarjung, Delhi, India Kavya was fitted and now has the auditory tools she needs to move forward.

“This precious little girl has already struggled to get to where she is, and we are thrilled to be able to help her on her journey.” – Melissa Tumblin, Founder of Ear Community.

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Are you interested in learning more about the Ponto 3 SuperPower for yourself or your child? Click below to be connected to a representative from our team.

Zhou Yu (“Z”) was born with bilateral microtia and atresia. While living in China he was unaided until he was adopted almost 2 years ago by the Bullock family. His mother Erin began doing research regarding what the best hearing care options would be for Z, knowing he would have progress to make not only learning a new language but hearing for the first time.

“It was not a hard decision to make once we did all the research. The stories that adults and older children were telling were the stories we needed to here. When we demoed products, he even could tell the difference and he picked Ponto” – Erin

In the video below, Erin explains why her family chose Ponto and the difference it is making in her son Z’s life.

Interested in learning more about our newest Ponto – the Ponto 3 SuperPower? Click the button below to be connected to a representative from our team.

Davin is 8 years old and was born with bilateral microtia and atresia. In the video below, Davin and his mother, Shannon Gordon, talk about his hearing journey with his Ponto’s and their experience with the new Ponto 3 SuperPower.

“Davin’s hearing is one of the most important things in our life and we’re just trying to do what’s best for him.” – Shannon

Interested in learning more about the Ponto 3 SuperPower? Click the button below to be connected to a representative from our team.

The Ponto 3 is the world’s most powerful family of abutment-level sound processors. Powered by the advanced sound processing Inium Sense chip and supported by Direct Sound Transmission, the Ponto 3 makes listening in different situations easier.

Sound is sent straight to the bone, and on to the inner ear and the brain, without it having to travel through the skin which dampens sound.

But that’s not all. The Ponto 3 is also as discreet and reliable as it is powerful.

Watch this short video for a more detailed look at the Ponto 3.

If you’re interested in taking the next step in your hearing care journey to get the best sound quality possible, sign up to learn more about the Ponto 3.

November 9th is dedicated to spreading hope and knowledge around a congenital birth defect, Microtia, which occurs when the ear has not been fully developed in the first trimester of pregnancy.

Often affecting one or both ears, Microtia is diagnosed at birth, but there is no understanding as to why it occurs. A Microtia ear is smaller in size, can have a peanut shaped appearance, and is often accompanied by Atresia. Atresia, also known as aural atresia, is the absence or closure of the external auditory ear canal.

Microtia occurs in 1 of every 6,000 to 12,000 births, and in some regions, the condition is rare enough that it can be difficult to find relevant information and support. At Oticon Medical, we’re proud to say that our Bone Anchored Hearing System (BAHS) has helped people affected by Microtia and Atresia. As we celebrate Microtia Awareness Day today, we hope to promote public awareness and hope for future generations.

To learn more about Microtia and Atresia and explore helpful resources please visit the Ear Community.

This week, we were in San Diego at the AAO-HNSF conference to connect with hearing care professionals from around the world. Our booth at the conference gave professionals the opportunity to perform mock, hands-on Minimally Invasive Ponto Surgery (MIPS) procedures.

The MIPS surgery takes a total of 10-15 minutes and is normally carried out under local anesthetic. A circular incision is made that matches the abutment exactly. The surgeon uses specially designed instruments for MIPS. This leaves the skin around the incision intact with no skin tissue or hair follicles removed from around the abutment.

Here’s a short video that we shot on the conference floor. Note that the person doing the demo isn’t a professional, so she was learning in real-time just how minimally-invasive getting an abutment for a Ponto can be!

Want to learn more about getting your own Ponto? We can connect you with a local Audiologist, just click the button below and let us know!